OFFICER REPORT

VP Welfare and community

I have spent September gearing up to welcome thousands of new students and to welcome back all of our wonderful returning students. I can’t wait to have a campus buzzing with excitement and new people. We have been talking to new students in anticipating your arrival I can’t wait to meet you all!

Speaking on a Policy UK panel:

One of the goals we have set ourselves this year is to get more national recognition as a Student’s Union. As part of this I was invited to speak at a Policy UK conference around Student Protection and the importance of Student Unions in supporting students. It was a great experience, I really enjoyed talking about the power of student unions, why I love student unions and how great they are for students. I really felt that I was able to hold my own against much more experienced professionals and I was able to talk about all the amazing things Essex does.

Welcome Talks:

Over the past few weeks we have started welcoming students to Colchester campus and I have enjoyed giving welcome talks to new students. It has been great to speak to so many new students about the SU and what we can do for them. I am even more excited for the start of term than ever!

Housewarming:

We welcomed some new Mature and Commuting students to campus for a Housewarming event. This was a great way to meet students before they arrive to explain all of the different opportunities that are on offer. It was a great opportunity to showcase how cool our Students Union is.

SU Website:

I am currently working with our marketing team to design a section of the SU website which is dedicated to Welfare and Community. We will put information and events on there to make sure that welfare support and advice is even more accessible to students.

Welfare Survey:

I have been working with our Marketing Intelligence team to develop the Welfare Survey we will be conducting this year. We want to see how you use welfare services and what we can do better to help students. Please keep your eyes peeled for the survey and fill it out both times it is released!

Campus Tours:

Josh (VP Education) and I did an online tour or north campus houses and it was great to see how many students were watching online. It’s great to see students engaging with us online before they arrive and it’s good that they can benefit from our social media from all over the world.

Welfare and Community Executive:

I have been putting the final touches to the Welfare and Community Executive, we now have a full exec and I am really looking forward to working with them all. We will be focusing on running projects and campaigns for students whilst seeking the student opinion on welfare and community issues.

Open Day:

Last weekend I worked at open day, it was a great way to talk to prospective students about our amazing SU and all the things they could do if they joined us here at Essex.

I hope that you are all ready to come back and join us at Uni at the beginning of October. Please keep your eyes peeled for Fresher’s fortnight welfare advice! Can’t wait to see you all!

Jess

VP Welfare and Community J

JESS RICH

If you have got any questions or comments about my report please post them below or contact me at vpwelfare@essex.ac.uk.

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